Halifax Mooseheads - Feedhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca
Official site of the Halifax MooseheadsSat, 17 Feb 2018 03:46:38 +0000enhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.5.6Highlights: Mooseheads 12 Moncton 5 – Feb. 16thhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/highlights-mooseheads-12-moncton-5-feb-16th
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 03:46:38 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/highlights-mooseheads-12-moncton-5-feb-16thTeam record for goals in 12-5 win over Monctonhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/article/team-record-for-goals-in-12-5-win-over-moncton
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 02:49:30 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/article/team-record-for-goals-in-12-5-win-over-monctonGAME SUMMARY
The two points helped extend the Maritimes Division lead for the Herd over Acadie-Bathurst. The Titan fell to Cape Breton in overtime and Halifax (36-13-6-1) now sits at 79 points while Bathurst (33-14-7-2) has 75 points. Both teams have 12 games remaining and will face off in Halifax on the final day of the regular season.
"It felt great to get that dub (W) against those guys and we owed them big-time for last game," said Connor Moynihan.
The Mooseheads had a quick lead when Jake Ryczek scored on a point shot just 1:26 into the game but then ran into a little adversity as the Wildcats scored three times in a hurry to take a 3-1 advantage before the contest was eight minutes old. The momentum shifted back to the home side when Moncton defenceman Jonathan Aspirot took a slashing penalty and Jared McIsaac made the Cats pay on the power play with his eighth goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 3-2. The NHL Draft eligible defenceman had a three-point night giving him seven points in his last two games. McIsaac's tally was the first of nine in a row for the Moose as they buried Moncton before the 7,913 fans in the building could blink.
"They came out strong but we just kept to the structure and kept pounding them in," Moynihan said.
The Windham, New Hampshire native tied the score 3-3 at the 17:32 mark of the first period and Arnaud Durandeau gave his team a 4-3 lead when he netted his 16th of the season on a pretty shorthanded breakaway that spelled the end of the night for Wildcats starting goalie Matthew Waite. The goalie let in four goals on nine shots. Moncton coach Darren Rumble wasn't even willing to wait until the intermission to switch goalies as Waite was lifted in favour of Mark Grametbauer with only 37 seconds to go in the opening 20 minutes.
The switch to Grametbauer didn't stop the onslaught and he allowed eight goals on 29 shots as the Mooseheads completely over-matched their rivals in this game. The second period saw goals from Moynihan, Groulx, Lavoie, Zadina and Somppi to make it 9-3 after two periods and the Moose outscored the Cats 3-2 in the final 20 to coast to victory. Alex Gravel was big when he needed to be for Halifax with 32 saves.
Moncton played without a number of key players as Alexandre Khovanov is currently participating in the 5 Nations Tournament in Plymouth, Michigan. Mika Cyr is sidelined with a cracked clavicle, Gabriel Sylvestre was out serving a suspension and Anderson MacDonald is nursing a shoulder injury. The Mooseheads were without Joel Bishop who has been sidelines since suffering an upper body injury against Chicoutimi on February 8th. Goalie Blade Mann-Dixon sat in the press box with an upper body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Raphael Blais was called up from Miramichi and served as the backup.
Defencemen Jocktan Chainey and Patty Kyte both left the game early for precautionary reasons but aren't expected to miss any further time.
The Mooseheads will hope to keep the good times rolling at home when they wrap up the long weekend with a Monday matinee against Alexis Lafreniere and the Rimouski Oceanic at 2pm. Special Family Packs are on sale, three for $33 or four for $40, maximum two adults. Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Atlantic Box Office, select Superstore Outlets, TicketAtlantic.com, the Official Mooseheads Shop in Scotia Square or call 451-1221.]]>Moose Minute: Halifax vs Wildcats Feb. 16thhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/moose-minute-halifax-vs-wildcats-feb-16th
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 19:08:50 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/moose-minute-halifax-vs-wildcats-feb-16thMooseheads host Wildcats tonight at 7pmhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/mooseheads-host-wildcats-tonight-at-7pm
Fri, 16 Feb 2018 18:24:49 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/mooseheads-host-wildcats-tonight-at-7pmTicketAtlantic.com, the Official Mooseheads Shop in Scotia Square or call 451-1221.]]>#HookedOnSchoolDayshttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/hookedonschooldays
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 20:09:32 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/hookedonschooldaysHooked on School Days by highlighting the efforts and the perseverance of its players on each team, who so ably reconcile study and play. The league also wishes to highlight the important work of the pedagogical advisors and tutors who accompany the players of the leagues’ 18 teams to aid them with their schooling.
Sport can be an important motivator to help some young people to continue their studies. In a recent Léger survey commissioned by the Réseau des Instances regional de concertation (IRC) on school retention and educational success in Quebec, it was shown that taking part in a sport can make a difference: 7% of respondents decided to go back to school and 16% to stay. By making the pursuit of education mandatory, the QMJHL helps to encourage its players to combine sport and education in balance.
“The QMJHL knows that each school career is unique and everything we can do to encourage and support the players is a plus for their success. Team pedagogical advisors play an important role with players because they are there to help them with their studies, motivate them and help them overcome difficulties, “says Natacha Llorens, Director of Player Services for the QMJHL. “We sincerely thank them for their dedication and the mentoring offered to our players”.
Here is the list of players who have been chosen as models of scholastic perseverance on their team:

Jeffrey Truchon, Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Louis Jr Tardif, Baie-Comeau Drakkar

Alexandre Alain, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

Tyler Hylland, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Olivier Desjardins, Charlottetown Islanders

Zachary Boutillier, Chicoutimi Saguenéens

Xavier Bernard, Drummondville Voltigeurs

Pier-Olivier Lacombe, Gatineau Olympiques

Justin Barron, Halifax Mooseheads

Brady Pataki, Moncton Wildcats

Matthew Boucher, Quebec Remparts

Mathieu Bizier, Rimouski Océanic

Jacob Neveu, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Landon Quinney, Saint John Sea Dogs

Samuel Blier, Shawinigan Cataractes

Thomas Grégoire, Sherbrooke Phoenix

David Noël, Val-d’Or Foreurs

Jérémie Beaudin, Victoriaville Tigres

Here is the list of QMJHL educational advisors whose work deserves to be celebrated:

George Willett, Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Marie Meagher, Acadie-Bathurst Titan

James Laviolette, Baie-Comeau Drakkar

Harry Tassy, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

Ryan MacPherson, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Elie Blondin, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles

Julie McCabe, Charlottetown Islanders

Kristina Hulton, Charlottetown Islanders

Joanne Leblanc, Chicoutimi Saguenéens

Mathieu Audet, Drummondville Voltigeurs

Scott Danis, Gatineau Olympiques

Sarah Grant, Gatineau Olympiques

Allie MacDonald, Halifax Mooseheads

Lise Doucet, Moncton Wildcats

Simon Tremblay, Quebec Remparts

Rodrigue Landry, Rimouski Océanic

Lucie Landry, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Annie Somers, Saint John Sea Dogs

Shelley Rinehart, Saint John Sea Dogs

Amélie Bédard, Shawinigan Cataractes

Clovis Langlois-Boucher, Sherbrooke Phoenix

Josée Frenette, Val-d’Or Foreurs

John Kordan, Val-d’Or Foreurs

Diane Morin, Victoriaville Tigres

Lyne Morin, Victoriaville Tigres

]]>Former Mooseheads enjoying University successhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/article/former-mooseheads-enjoying-university-success
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 16:08:04 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/article/former-mooseheads-enjoying-university-successJesse Lussier.
He and the Tigers had an excellent second half of the season to fight their way into the playoffs. Lussier scored one goal and 10 assists this year and explained why he chose Dalhousie.
“One of the biggest decision factors for me to stay in Halifax after playing junior here was the education that Dal has to offer. Hockey wise I knew the program was going to be a rebuild process but it was a challenge that I looked forward to and am happy to be a part of.”
Lussier is joined on the Tigers by Andrew Shewfelt, Zack Taylor and Kelly Bent under Head Coach and former long-time Moose Assistant Chris Donnelly.
Dalhousie will enter the series as the underdog against the Axemen but anything can happen in a best-of-three matchup.
“I have to give a lot of credit to each of our players in the room. After the Christmas break it seemed like there was a new life in the team and a new motivation. Each and every guy came back and did what nobody thought would be possible,” said the Commerce student Lussier.
“A huge reason I chose Dalhousie and the Commerce program was the ability to have internships. Three semesters of the program require the student to get into the workforce and become a co-op student. I am currently doing my first and am gaining terrific experience and real world skills.
The Saint Mary’s Huskies trot out three familiar names in Moose Country led by veteran defenceman Austyn Hardie, goalie Eric Brassard and high scoring forward Jake Coughler. They’ll be matched up against Darcy Ashley and Brent Andrews of the UPEI Panthers.
Coughler was tied for seventh in AUS scoring with 34 points in his rookie season. He scored 13 goals and 21 assists for the fourth place Huskies. He said the team is confident they can go far as they want to land one of the coveted spots in the University Cup to be held next month in Fredericton, NB.
“My first season has been great so far. I feel that I’ve adjusted well to the university style of play. I came into a great dressing room, we have a real tight knit group and that helped me a lot here at SMU,” he said.
Halifax Mooseheads General Manager Cam Russell acquired Coughler from the Charlottetown Islanders during last season’s Christmas trading period and the overage forward brought immediate fire power to the Herd lineup. He scored 21 points in 27 regular season games. He hails from St. Catharines, Ontario but explained why he’s been happy to stay in Halifax.
“When I came to the east coast I knew I wanted to stay. There are a lot of genuine people here. Halifax gave me the best of both worlds. I get the east coast vibe while being in the big city. It’s perfect.”
Coughler learned through the QMJHL how to keep a good balance between school and hockey. He said a great support system is key in achieving success in the classroom.
“School has been great. There are a lot of helping hands to make sure you get the teaching you need. A lot of the guys on the team including myself have taken business so they’ve been a great resource for me as well.”
While these four teams are duking it out in round one, the perennial contenders from UNB featuring Trey Lewis, Matt Murphy and Randy Gazzola will be waiting for their opponent to be determined. The trio all played for the Mooseheads during the Memorial Cup era with Lewis of course being a co-Captain on the 2013 championship team. He is in his first year with the Varsity Reds after transferring from St. FX to return to his home province.
“It’s been great being close to home again. Last year was a lot of fun being a red shirt and playing some senior for my hometown, and I think it got me that much more excited to lace ‘em up this year. This year has been a blast as well. I’m playing a different role and even a different position (left wing), but the transition has been great and it’s definitely easier with our teams’ success.”
Lewis said the camaraderie between the former Mooseheads is something special and mentioned how Murphy and Gazzola haven’t forgot about a certain trade during the 2012-13 season.
“Gazz and Murph were both really good friends of mine when we played together with the Mooseheads and having those two here at UNB makes it that much more fun. It’s pretty funny because Gazz was actually traded for Murph, so they like to poke fun at that situation from time to time!”
There happens to be a few more Mooseheads ties across the country as the playoffs begin for the OUA and Canada West. Forward Anthony Sorrentino and the Laurier Golden Hawks are set to face Brock. J-S Taillefer and Domenic Beauchemin will help the Concordia Stingers battle UOIT. Bradley Kennedy and Mount Royal face off with Manitoba while former Mooseheads goalie Peter Delmas is now the goaltending coach and education advisor with the Western Mustangs. Western meets Ryerson in round one.
With the QMJHL having been in the Maritimes for more than 20 years has been huge for the local University programs and the Atlantic Conference is widely considered to be the most competitive in Canada. Lewis said the Mooseheads are a big part of that.
“I think the QMJHL players have a huge impact in the AUS. There’s always a ton of familiar faces when you come out of junior. It’s an extremely tough league and so many Q players that had four-to-five year junior careers come into the AUS and their game only gets better.”
As for us in Moose Country, we’ll be watching closely as some of our favourite former players continue to play out their hockey dreams.
The current edition of the Mooseheads will continue the home stand this Friday night at 7pm as they host the Moncton Wildcats at Scotiabank Centre. The Herd will also welcome superstar rookie Alex Lafreniere and the Rimouski Oceanic on Heritage Day Monday at 2pm. Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Atlantic Box Office, select Superstore Outlets, TicketAtlantic.com, the Official Mooseheads Shop in Scotia Square or call 451-1221.
]]>Highlights: Mooseheads 6 Shawinigan 1 – Feb. 11thhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/highlights-mooseheads-6-shawinigan-1-feb-11th
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 23:36:54 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/highlights-mooseheads-6-shawinigan-1-feb-11thSomppi brings the excitement in 6-1 Halifax winhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/article/somppi-brings-the-excitement-in-6-1-win
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 22:36:06 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/article/somppi-brings-the-excitement-in-6-1-winGAME SUMMARY
"The goal" had the building buzzing for all 7,371 in attendance and blew up the internet simultaneously as the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect picked up the puck lacrosse-style behind the Cataractes net and whipped around to tuck it in behind goalie Lucas Fitzpatrick. It was actually Somppi's second goal in 18 seconds as he tallied on the power play just moments earlier. His 20th and 21st of the season gave the Herd a 2-0 lead just 5:27 into the first period and earned him first star status.

"Actually I've wanted to do that for like the last five years. I've tried it a couple of times in practice but it was a good opportunity to do it and it worked out," Somppi said.
The victory was full of milestones for the Mooseheads, who more importantly snapped a two-game losing skid in emphatic fashion. Halifax took advantage of a Quebec-based team that was finishing their three-game weekend road trip that made stops in Bathurst and Saint John before coming to Scotiabank Centre. Somppi may have had one of the nicest goals in team history but Maxime Fortier also scored twice to reach the 100 goal plateau for his career. He becomes only the fourth player in franchise history to crack the century mark. Alex Tanguay had 101, Jason King scored 114 and Brandon Benedict leads the way with 119. Fortier has 13 regular season games left in his Junior career to try to chase them down.
Jared McIsaac tied a team-record for assists by a defenceman in one game with four. He helped to set up both Somppi goals along with tallies by Fortier and Jake Ryczek. The NHL Draft eligible McIsaac downplayed his statistics and preferred to talk about the all around effort by his team.
"We played a full 60 minutes which was nice and it was a good bounce back game from Friday for all of the guys," McIsaac said after.
Arnaud Durandeau had the other Halifax goal while Alex Gravel picked up the win between the pipes with 16 saves. The play of the Mooseheads goalie was not lost on McIsaac who thought it was a key factor in the victory.
"It was good to get Gravel back in the win column. He played great tonight and you know really made some big saves for us."
The Mooseheads were up 4-0 after Fortier first goal of the night at 14:51 of the middle period. Shawinigan got on the board during a two-man advantage as Anthony Imbeault scored at the side of the net with 1:25 to play in the second. Unassisted goals by Durandeau and Fortier capped things off in the third as Halifax improved to 35-13-6-1. Filip Zadina (2), Raphael Lavoie and Benoit-Olivier Groulx had the other assists besides the four-spot by McIsaac.
The next game for the Herd is once again on home ice as they host the Moncton Wildcats Friday night at 7pm at Scotiabank Centre. Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Atlantic Box Office, select Superstore Outlets, TicketAtlantic.com, the Official Mooseheads Shop in Scotia Square or call 451-1221.]]>Otto Somppi lacrosse-style highlight reel goalhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/otto-somppi-lacrosse-style-highlight-reel-goal
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 22:01:45 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/otto-somppi-lacrosse-style-highlight-reel-goalMoose Minute: Feb 11th Mooseheads vs Shawiniganhttp://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/moose-minute-feb-11th-mooseheads-vs-shawinigan
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 18:03:33 +0000http://halifaxmooseheads.ca/video/moose-minute-feb-11th-mooseheads-vs-shawinigan